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Friday, February 7, 2014

Interviewing Barrington Irving by Caeley L.

Recently, Girl Scout Caeley L. had the opportunity to interview
Aerospace Engineer, Barrington Irving for a PBS Series called The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers. She tells the story of her interview
with Mr. Irving and how Girl Scouts has helped her get to where she is today. Here
is her experience…

Interviewing
Barrington Irving

By Caeley L.

On December 4, 2013, I was fortunate enough to
film an episode for an online PBS series called The Secret Life of Scientists
and Engineers. I not only had the experience of a life time, but I met
such an amazing person. I had been told that I was interviewing an
Aerospace Engineer named Barrington Irving, and for those of you who haven't heard
of him, he is the first African American to fly around the world, and the
youngest to do it as well. I, being an aspiring aerospace engineer
myself, was so excited to be meeting such an outstanding person. I came
prepared with questions to ask, such as what a typical day looks like for
him.

When we met and started having a conversation,
I was blown away by everything he had achieved and all the work he does
now. We spoke about my college plans and he gave me advice on college
preparation and what life looks like for an aerospace engineer. My last
question for him was "Do you have any advice for an aspiring
engineer?" I will never forget what he told me. He said,
"Anything is possible, you can do whatever you set your mind to, and if
you have your mind set on getting a man on mars, then that is what you are
going to do."

Overall, the whole evening, meeting him and
speaking with him, was one of the most inspirational times of my life. He
justified the decision I made to major in aerospace engineering in college and
he set my mind toward achieving so many things in the engineering world.

When interviewing with Barrington
Irving, I realized how much Girl Scouts has helped me get to get to where I am today.Being a member of the Media Girls gave me the
courage to talk in front of the camera.Typically, I am a shy girl, but Media Girls truly taught me to break out
of that shell. I am less nervous talking not only during a big media event, but
Media Girls has trained me to speak more eloquently by getting me to eliminate
the "ums" after all of my sentences.

Another part of Girl Scouts that helped me
with the interview was Girl Scout's great STEM program.Seven years ago, GSNC began a FIRST Robotics
program that I have been a part of since day one.The experiences Girl Scouts of Nassau County
gave me with robotics pushed my expectations for my future toward
engineering.If GSNC hadn't begun the
FIRST program, then I would never have had the opportunity to speak with
Barrington Irving.*GSNC has no affiliation with Barrington Irving.